November 09, 2012

Obama Not So Lucky This Time

Another edition of the reality show the globe can't stop watching has concluded.

Obama stays on as commander in chief.

As the campaign teams scramble for new jobs, livery is removed from jets and attention returns to the plodding task of governing many have noted this US presidential election felt a little flat versus 2008.

Yet, record sums of money were invested in advertising. Social media went from novelty to mastery. Rhetoric from both sides flew constantly.

Nonetheless, the great emotional drive, the uplift of a generation and mobilization of the indifferent didn't arrive.

Why not? They did all the right things.

Hundreds of pieces of creative were produced, maybe thousands, millions even if you count every banner and placard made by supporters.

What if in 2008 Obama simply got lucky?

Lucky that a street artist made a rogue poster. Allegedly stealing an image and giving it his artistic flair.

A poster that turned a politician into an unusually iconic figure, for a politician.

A poster that said what many wanted to feel.

A poster people at first discovered, rather than were broadcast.

A poster whose tone meshed with the personality of the leader.

A poster cool enough for a non-fanatic to put up in his office, dorm, storefront or car back window.

A poster perfectly designed for the digital age, appearing on Facebook feeds, twitter icons and the first generation of iPhone back when only Amercans and Canadian's like me had them.

A poster that Obama was lucky an artist woke up one day and decided to make.

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What if the reason this election fell a bit flat is simply neither candidate was lucky enough to have that rare creative expression that taps the moment, its people and its mood unexpectedly and inexplicably.

There certainly were some very interesting pieces of creative and design, that met the brief and achieve the objective.

We can only speculate the 2008 outcome if Shepard Fairey's Hope poster wasn't created. But, the debate over why this election fell flat does leave one clear conclusion - in this world of near infinite knowledge and un-consumable volumes of information people still want to feel moved.